Plaque #2

The second plaque was finished today. The images below show the step-by-step process of making it. The measurements involved in making this one were different from the measurements in the last one. Whereas the last one had a maximum of fifteen characters in one line, resulting in the characters being 0.8" wide, this one had a maximum of nineteen characters in one line, resulting in the characters each being 0.6" wide. There was also spacing between the lines to be made in this one. The last plaque had five lines to be engraved. Conveniently, the board was 5" wide so that I could make each of the characters 1" tall. With this one however, the characters would stay 1" tall and I would have to make sure that the spaces in between the lines were equal in length. To center the three lines on this plaque, I had to make the spaces below and above the bottom line, above the middle line, and above the top line the same size. That was four spaces in all so I divided the remaining 2" on the board by that and made the sequence of marking an inch after every half inch on the width of the board. If you look closely at the first picture, you can see where this sequence was marked. Measuring the range of where the letters would be was much easier. I would just take the number of characters in each line, multiply that by 0.6, divide the difference of that and twelve by two, and measure the resulting length to the opposite sides of the board to ensure that the line would be centered. You can see the markings of these horizontal measurements in the second picture below. All of the markings that I made from these measurements established how big the characters should be when I penciled them out. You can see that in the third picture below. For both aesthetic and protective reasons, I applied stain and water sealant to the board after I made the engraving. That is shown in the fourth picture below. Finally, to make each character more visible, I applied two coatings of yellow paint to the characters. Both plaques should be attached to the Mayo's Landing bench within the week.